11.09.2012

pompom costume preview

A million and one things left to do in the next few days. We were headed here for the weekend, but Stella has got a really bad virus and we're staying put, at least until tomorrow.In better news, yesterday I turned that wonderful corner on this costume, where late night engineering cleared the way for finished pieces the next morning. Here we've got the detachable pompom tutu belt (with detachable pompoms!) and a glittery lace train. Also, the headpiece, which was the inspiration for the entire act.

Here is me with my giant pompom fans. I just finished them up last night, so this is a late night weirdo photo. They things are crazy fun to play around with. More about them in a minute.

The key to making a pompom headpiece: securing the pompoms snugly on an inner hat structure that then can be pinned to your hair. That took me a few hours to come to, but I got it. I bought my pompoms from this wonderful Etsy seller, by the way. She's fast and has a beautiful color selection.

The technology will astound you. Snaps for each pompom on the tutu belt. The belt attaches to and detaches from the most showgirl-y piece I've made so far. I'm pretty impressed with it. If you'd like to see the delicates I've made for the act, scroll to the bottom. Don't worry, they are also just laid out on the floor!

Generally, this is what it's looked like in here for the last week. We cook and eat where I work (it's a kitchen!), so everything moves several times a day. It's chaos. I have also been working on my holiday piñata egg orders, but I had to put those on hold for a few days for sanity's sake. The pompom fans shown above were made from twelve of those cream colored pompoms attached to two hula hoop halves. They don't move exactly like fans, so I'm having to retool a few ideas I had about my choreography. This whole costume has been a constant retooling, actually. Design is so good when you're in it and you see what works and what doesn't. Better in actuality than on paper. Tangent! I am so tired as I write this!

This costume has required three trips to the fabric store, believe it or not. Most do for me, really. Stella came along with Oliver and me yesterday. This aisle is just the tip of the iceberg!

Those pompom fans took a lot of glue. I stocked up on reinforcements.

Here are the underthings (below). They came out so pretty! I still need to design a capelet or top out of the salmon pink glittery lace fabric, and then, done! And then, rehearsing!

Along with all of this business, I still need to bake up Monday's donut project (the batter is resting in the refrigerator) while taking care of a sicky and also hopefully getting one night out of town with the family. If the donuts don't materialize on Monday, it's because I've died of exhaustion or gone mad. I hope you have a great, restful weekend. I know I won't!

Hi Emily, thanks! I always take newcomers to Golden Gate Park, to walk around at the Japanese Tea Garden and in the Conservatory of Flowers and go up into the tower at the De Young Museum. There is so much good food here, you really can't go wrong, so maybe just EAT! The Ferry Building is wonderful. Everything here is pretty darn wonderful, you really can't go wrong in any direction. Sorry so vague, there is too much to do! Have a great time! :)

ABOUT ME:

I am an architect, mother, wife and native East Coaster living in San Francisco, and the paper artist behind papel SF. My work can be seen at The Jealous Curator, Colossal, My Modern Metropolis, Apartment Therapy, and the Martha Stewart Living and Williams-Sonoma blogs, among others. Thank you for reading!

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